It seems TFL Senior Member teifmen1948, started the ball rolling on this idea. He PM'd Moderator JohnKSa and staff discussed it. We agreed it would be fun and it was worth a shot for something different to do.

So here we go with some rules of the game for the Photo Contest. Read and Heed.

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Official Rules for The Firing Line's Monthly Photo Contest.

1. One picture post (one entry) per member. One angle. One photo shot. Submitted entries must be owned by the entrant or be a former possession of the entrant. Do not submit cut & paste historic photos or commercial file photos of same-model guns that you own. Submit a photo of your rifle, shotgun or handgun. The Photo Contest will be held in the Photo Contest subforum of the General Discussion forum.

Tip (edited July 7, 2009): After some complaints about the rules becoming too strict, we've decided there might be some merit to that complaint. So, to keep this fun, the following paragraph, in it's entirety is rescinded and there will no longer be any prohibition against multiple gun entries to the contest. The vote will weed 'em out. HOWEVER, after some discussion about photoshopping, a very good point was brought to the table. All the images entered here are digital and lend themselves to manipulation, for clarity , size, etc.. We consider this normal preparation for entry here and don't try to prohibit that kind of image manipulation. That said, Rule No. 1, above, also says "One picture post (one entry) per member. One angle. One photo shot." So, superimposed images violate this rule. One snap of the "shutter" and that image is the one you submit. You may manipulate, i.e., clean up, stylize, enhance, add effects, but the image needs to be submitted with one layer: the original image imprint. All manipulation of the image must be done on that original image layer. Updated Friday, July 31, 2009.

Pictures of your collection are not suitable for the contest. Pictures of multiple models of a product line you own are not suitable for the contest. Pictures of multiple variations on a particular model you own are not suitable for the contest. Post one shot of one firearm. Exceptions to this rule would be long gun/handguns matched up in useable compliments, as originally intended. For example, old model black powder cartridge lever rifles accompanied by a handgun of the same caliber, a working stagecoach security escort shotgun/handgun pair or military issue rifles/handguns that are historically (period) accurate. Also acceptable are dual carry handgun rigs, but some evidence in the photo should demonstrate that both handguns are carried at the same time, such as dual six gun rigs or dual shoulder holsters. One other exception will be the artistic juxtaposition of the new vs the old. The photo taker's eye will be the judge of what's old and what's new, but he must also be the owner of both and it must be one photo, not two.

2. See, in the REPLY TO THREAD window, the MANAGE ATTACHMENTS table for maximum sizes of the various image formats. Please do not exceed these maximum image sizes. Images too large will be edited down or deleted at the discretion of the first Moderator to come along and watch his monitor explode.

NOTE (added Sep 1, 2008): Update ... within the limit of the maximum file size, some images posted in the photo contest threads are too wide to be displayed on a normal page and require horizontal scrolling to view the entire image. Get help if you must, but photo entries need to be reduced down so that the entire image is viewable on a normal page width. This will not disqualify an entry, but it will reduce your chances of a fair review because viewing/voting members may skip over those entries. Another issue, perhaps even more important, is posting your images as attachments as opposed to inline. Posting your images as attachments places your image off the thread and as viewers/voters scan the thread, they may choose to not view an image which is not in the contest thread, posted for ready viewing. This also will not disqualify an entry, but you will reduce your chances of winning if you choose to post your image as an attachment, as it requires a few more clicks of the mouse. 'Just a word of caution.

[TIP on image posting (added July 7, 2009): A few of us are not aware of a trick to posting images on vBulletin powered bulletin boards. Here it is: attach your image via the Attach Files -> Manage Attachments button. Just browse to where you have the image on your computer and then click on the UPLOAD button. It also works if you navigate to a url of an image on the web, say Photobucket, for example. After you have attached the image and saved out of the post, click on the attachment link. As long as the link is legitimate, you will be viewing the image and you will notice you were taken to an image location with a thefiringline.com url. Copy that url. Return to your post and click on EDIT. Navigate the cursor to where you want the image to be inserted and click on the icon above the test edit window. Paste the copied url link of the image into the popup window and click the OK button. Voila`, your image is now posted inline and everyone can view it without clicking on the attachment url link. You may have the image posted inline and also have the attachment link in your post.]

3. Text accompanying entry images is limited to one sentence, so use it wisely. A short description of subject, place and time (season/year) is advised. You don't have to list all the modifications to the weapon, nor all the matches entered, nor game taken. This is a beauty contest. Stay on topic. The grammar nanny will be checking all text entries closely.

5. No money (currency) exchange of any kind will be discussed. TFL does not suggest nor does it condone entry fees nor any other exchange of currency in connection with this photo contest. At the first post anywhere on the board even hinting at a monetary prize or purchased prize item paid by the entrants, the contest will be closed and the idea will be permanently shelved.

6. The contest will continue for a month (roughly thirty days) and begin on the first day of each month. At month's end the contest will be closed and voting for a Best Photo winner will commence in a separate Voting thread.

7. Voting will continue for no more than a week or until a full day (24 hour period) has passed without an additional vote. The Voting thread will be open for all TFL members to cast votes for a Best Photo winner in the Photo Contest thread. A stop date and time will be posted in the Voting thread when it is opened. The Voting thread will be configured as a normal poll. Discussions are permitted as in a normal polling thread.

8. The Winner of the Photo Contest will have his/her photo entry, from the Photo Contest thread, posted in a Photo Contest Winner's sticky thread in the General Discussion forum.

9. Entries must be of guns: rifles, shotguns or handguns. Accompanying accessory hardware is permitted for aesthetic effect. The subject of the photo should be the centerpiece of the image and be prominent in the photo. Updated July 31, 2009 ... changed "photo must be" to "photo should be".

Tip: Accessories should be in the support role of an accessory in the setting of your photo entry, not the most important object in the photo. Outside action photos are permitted, but not suggested. Make your photo image about the subject of your entry. It is permitted to submit an action photo, but the objective here is a clear photo of a firearm. Updated July 31, 2009 ... changed "a clear static photo of a firearm" from "a clear photo of a firearm" (deleted the word "static")

10. Do not post images of military hardware that you don't actually personally own. "I am a taxpayer and this 9 inch naval gun battery is mine," will get an entry deleted quickly. See Rule #1. Let's have fun and maintain the spirit of the contest.

11. If an entrant decides to change the submitted image, the original entry post should be edited and the new image exchanged. The same time limit for editing of all posts also applies here. In other words, the entrant will have a maximum of four days to edit their post from the time of original submission. Those who post in the last few days of the contest will have less time. If you want to edit your post after the four day cutoff time, save the image for the next month's contest, do not add another post or one of the entries will be disqualified and deleted. [Edited to add: If there is a legitimate problem with your post, PM me and we can get it straight. The object here is to get one good entry for the month. I will help you. - Bud]

12. The winning photo in the monthly contest may not enter that photo again for one year.

13. The first week of January each year we will hold a contest with all the monthly winners of the previous year. These entries will be reposted by staff in an annual voting poll for the Best Photo of the Year. Voting will continue for a short period of time, not to exceed one week.

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__________________"The irony of the Information Age is that it has given new respectability to uninformed opinion." - John Lawton, speaking to the American Association of Broadcast Journalists in 1995

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